


Writing Harry

by Ebenbild



Series: The Granger Relation [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Hawkeye (Comics), James Bond (Craig movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Mission: Impossible (Movies), Sherlock (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (TV)
Genre: Brothers, Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2019-01-29 18:40:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12636891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ebenbild/pseuds/Ebenbild
Summary: When Harry accused Hermione that she followed Dumbledore's rule about not writing him, he had no idea that Hermione tried - she just hadn't counted her brothers and their tendency to go 'Missing In Action' or stumble in her life unannounced into the equation while doing so.





	Writing Harry

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer : I’m too young to be Rowling so there is sadly no way Harry Potter is mine…
> 
> Placing: Before fifth year.

* * *

  **  
**

When Hermione stepped through the barrier to the Muggle world after having arrived from Hogwarts after fourth year, the first thing she saw were the grim faces of her parents.

She frowned.

Something had happened – she could see it clear as day in the darkened eyes of her parents.

For a moment, Hermione looked back at the barrier which hid not only the gate 9 ¾ but also currently her friends who were still dragging their luggage through the crowd.

Hermione on the other hand had been lucky and had arrived quite quickly at the barrier. So she had decided to walk through and wait for Harry and Ron on the other side to say good-bye…

For a moment, Hermione hesitated.

Her gaze drifted through the crowd on the muggle side of Kings Cross.

Neither the Weasleys nor the Dursleys were already there, from what she could see.

Hermione swallowed thickly, then she stepped up to her parents to greet them.

“Mummy, Daddy!” She cried and hugged both of them one after another.

“Princess,” her father greeted her and sighed, his face as grave as it had been since her eyes landed on him today.

Hermione pulled back from the hug to look at her father and then at her mother again with a frown.

“What happened?” She asked concerned.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the Weasleys and the Dursleys approaching through the crowd, so she guessed that she wouldn’t have time to talk to her parents alone for a longer time right now – especially because Harry and Ron should arrive at the other side of the barrier soon as well…

Her mother sighed.

“Your brother was kidnapped,” she said, not bothering to hem and haw over the fact. “He’s currently missing in Afghanistan.”

Hermione looked at her mother in confusion.

“So?” She asked, not understanding the whole dark faces that her parents were showing even with her mother adding a bit of context.

It might sound like Hermione was quite hard-hearted, but the truth was that her brothers went missing even more often than a year had months – so a brother having gone missing while she was at Hogwarts wasn’t something new…

Her parents exchanged a glance.

“Some when last month,” her mother added and sighed.

Hermione frowned.

_Well… that was a bit different._

“Last month?” She asked surprised. “And he hasn’t escaped yet from whomever has him?”

That was a surprise for her. The most of her brothers were masters in escaping…

Then her father shook his head tiredly.

“It’s Anthony,” he explained.

_And that said everything…_

Hermione’s eyes widened.

“Tony?” She asked incredulously.

Her older brother – one Anthony Siger Edward Stark… well, Anthony Edward Stark because Tony refused to acknowledge even on paper the name ‘Siger’ – was a weapon’s manufacturer in America and even with his hundreds or thousands of enemies, he had until now managed to not be truly kidnapped.

So her parents saying that Tony had been kidnapped… was something Hermione maybe should feel concerned about.

She frowned, but before she could say something else, Harry and Ron stepped through the barrier.

Hermione watched while the Weasleys greeted their children and Harry.

Without looking at her parents, she spoke up again.

“Have you contacted the others so that they can look for him?” She asked them.

“Not yet everybody,” her father replied. “Your brother’s on your mother’s side know – but we’re hoping to contact my side as well… we just haven’t been able to do so, yet.”

“Oh,” Hermione said. “Alright.”

That was when the Dursleys reached the throng of Weasleys, with distaste in their eyes.

Hermione shot a look at her parents before joining the crowd of Weasleys to say good-bye to Harry.

“Ciao, Harry!” She exclaimed, before kissing Harry on the cheek. Normally, she wouldn’t do something like that – but today, she did. She knew what a hard time coping her best friend had right now and she promised herself that she would write him that summer as often as she could.

Sadly, Hermione would soon find out that her promise was harder to keep than she had thought back then at Kings Cross…

 

* * *

 

 

_Dear Harry,_

_How are you? I’m…_

 

“Hermione!”

Hermione stopped writing and looked up towards the door of her room.

“Yes, Mummy?” She asked frowning.

“Could you come down, for a moment, please?” Her mother asked. Hermione frowned, looked at her letter and then sat down her quill.

“Yes, Mummy,” she said before standing up and starting on her way downstairs.

She stopped the moment she saw her parents sitting in the living room with her oldest brother across from them. She shivered in dread.

“Tony?” She asked fearfully.

Her older brother closed his eyes and Hermione shuddered.

“Tony?” She asked with a very quiet and fearful voice.

Her older brother shook his head.

“We’ve still no news about him,” he said. “But there’s still hope. He’s too stubborn to die, Hermione.”

Hermione swallowed but guessed that her oldest brother was right. Tony was too stubborn to die or to give up. She had to keep hope that he was well and still alive.

“Then -?”

Her brother’s lips pressed together in an unhappy line.

There was pity in his eyes – pity and grief.

Hermione swallowed harshly.

“Who?” She asked nearly voicelessly.

Mycroft Holmes, oldest of the Granger-Holmes children, looked at her sadly.

“The MI6 send me a ‘Killed-In-Action’ notice,” Mycroft Holmes said gravely.

Hermione sucked in a harsh breath.

“For one ‘James Bond’,” Mycroft finished.

Her mother hid her mouth behind her hand.

Her father buried his head in his hands.

“James,” Hermione said faintly, her legs shook.

_James_ – Hermione’s oldest brother on her father’s side…

Mycroft reached out towards her and pulled her next to him onto the seat. One of his arms surrounded her.

For a moment, Hermione just stiffened in his arms, then she sunk into his embrace and buried her head into her brother’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

That evening, Hermione didn’t finish her letter – and the next days she didn’t think about it either.

 

* * *

 

 

_Dear Harry,_

_How are you? I’m currently a bit stressed. There’s so much happening here with people I know missing and presumed dead. I’m sorry that I haven’t written you, but other things have taken priority and –_

 

A knock on her window startled her out of her writing.

She looked up to see her youngest brother standing on the window sill. Her room was on the first floor, so she presumed that her brother had climbed the house to reach her window.

Nothing new considering which brother it was.

Clint Granger, officially ‘Barton’, also known as ‘Hawkeye’ wasn’t known for using doors if he didn’t have to.

Hermione sighed, stood up and opened the window.

Her brother immediately entered.

“Heya, little sis!” He exclaimed happily. “How’s life?”

“What are you doing here, Clint?” Hermione replied.

Her brother pouted.

“That sounded as if you don’t like me visiting you,” he said, still pouting.

Hermione rolled her eyes at him.

“Clint,” she interrupted him. “I just want to know why you decided to use my window to enter the house?”

Clint shrugged.

“I needed a place to hide for a night,” he said. “And I’m not involving Mummy and Daddy.”

“In other words, you pranked Natasha and now come to me in the hope that I won’t rattle you out to her unlike Mummy or Daddy would do,” Hermione said amused.

Clint pouted.

“Aw, c’mon, sis!” He exclaimed. “I’ve to travel to Budapest tomorrow! I need some time to relax before going!”

Hermione rolled her eyes at him fondly.

“Alright,” she finally gave in. “But if Natasha knocks on my window, the deal is done for. Then it’s everybody on their own!”

Clint waved it off.

“Naturally,” he said. “So – how’s life, little sis’?”

And just like that, Hermione would not end her letter that night. Instead she would spend it talking to her brother – which also meant, that she would spend the day after sleeping instead of doing anything else.

In the end, she would chuck away her letter to start over – again.

 

* * *

 

 

_Dear Harry,_

_How are you? I’m currently still at home. Ron hasn’t written me until now. I’ve not yet started on my home –_

 

“Hermione! Hermione!”

Hermione stopped mid-word and looked up from her letter.

“Daddy?” She asked confused at the happy voice of his father.

“Hermione! Come down!”

So she stood up and hurried down the stairs.

Her father was in the living room and the moment she entered, he swept her up in a hug.

“James is alive!”

Hermione’s eyes lit up with joy.

“He’s alive?” She asked, hope in her voice.

“Yes!” Her father exclaimed and swung her around as if she was a little child. “He’s alive!”

And Hermione couldn’t help but think that at least one of her brothers was back where he belonged.

When her father let her go, Hermione looked around in the living room just to spot her mother standing there, smiling.

“How d’you know?” She asked her parents confused when she couldn’t spot either Mycroft or James in the room with them.

Her father laughed.

“Mycroft called,” he exclaimed joyfully. “He said something about James having blown up Skyfall or some such…”

Hermione snorted.

Only her father could feel happy about his oldest son blowing up the ancestral manor of their family – but then, Hermione had always wondered how that manor had survived as long as it had with a family like her Daddy’s…

“So – when does he come home?” She asked eagerly.

Her father ruffled her hair.

“I guess he will be there in about a day or two,” he said. “His boss died. He will have to cope with that and considering that Skyfall is gone, he will have to come here to recover instead of to hole up in that old mansion like before.”

Hermione smiled at her father.

James was coming home – even if that meant that Hermione would have to babysit him, considering that her brother never stood still and definitely hated recovery in any kind or form.

Of course, that also meant that Hermione had no time to finish her letter…

 

* * *

 

 

_Dear Harry,_

_How are you? I’m currently still at home, babysitting. No, I’m not joking. It’s truly like baby –_

 

Hermione stopped writing the moment she noticed the window behind her opening.

“James,” she said slowly.

The answer was a sigh.

“You shouldn’t even be able to hear me,” her brother complained.

Hermione turned and looked at her brother with a raised eyebrow.

Her brother was bandaged thanks to some burns and one of his collarbones as well as his upper arm were broken.

“I fell,” her brother had said when he had explained his injuries. Hermione was quite sure that it had to have been something more than a simple fall – but then, she was quite content to let it stand considering that the most likely true explanation was something like ‘I run from the explosion at Skyfall manor and then had to throw myself out of the way from a blaze’ or something like that…

James meanwhile stared at Hermione with narrowed eyes.

“You shouldn’t have been able to hear me,” he repeated, pulling Hermione from her thoughts. “I’m a spy! I should be able to sneak by you without you –“

“I’ve got a spell on every window and door and every other way out of the house, currently,” Hermione said amused. “Believe me, James, Clint and Tony taught me everything about leaving a house without being noticed.”

James groaned.

Hermione just smiled at her older brother.

“And now sit back down and give up escaping or I’ll call your quartermaster to ensure that he tells your boss that you need a prolonged holiday in MI6’s medical wing,” she added sweetly.

Her brother’s eyes narrowed.

“You don’t even know my quartermaster,” he said.

Hermione raised an eyebrow.

“The old one?” She asked. “No, I didn’t. The new one on the other hand? Yes, I do.”

James frowned.

Then he snorted.

“As if, little sis,” he said amused.

Hermione just raised an eyebrow in challenge.

“Dark brown hair,” Hermione said amused. “Glasses. Quite young for his post…”

James eyes narrowed.

“Where do you know him from, Hermione?” He asked, clearly fearing a security issue.

Hermione smiled and shrugged.

“Maybe I’ll tell you – someday,” she said amused. “Just know that I know him and that I have his phone number.”

James opened his mouth – clearly to call her a liar – so Hermione rattled down his quartermaster’s phone number.

James’ mouth snapped shut, his mind obviously going over the phone number Hermione had given him over and over again to detect a mistake.

Of course, he found none.

He groaned.

“You’re evil,” he complained. “You’re absolutely evil.”

Hermione snickered.

“You raised me that way,” she pointed out and James groaned again before slumping down next to Hermione on the sofa.

“Alright,” he said with a suffering sigh. “But if I have to stay, you can at least play a game or two with me, alright?”

Hermione smiled.

“Alright,” she said and put away her letter and quill.

The next days would be full of games and entertaining James.

Obviously, her letter would stay unfinished.

 

* * *

 

 

_Dear Harry,_

_How are you? I’m sorry that I haven’t written you anything interesting since the end of the year. I haven’t yet even finished one of my essays for school and I’m not sure that I will be able to finish one for at least another week. Don’t ask if I’m ill – I know that you’d think that after reading this! – I’m just a bit preoccupied with other things right –_

 

Hermione stopped when someone knocked at her window.

She looked up and stared in disbelief at the brother who was hanging on her window on the first floor.

Then she hurriedly stood up and opened her window to let him in.

“Sherlock, what –?”

“Hello, little sister,” Sherlock said. “Don’t tell Mummy that I stayed in your room tonight, will you?”

Hermione raised an eyebrow at Sherlock.

“Who said I let you sleep in here?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

Her brother just sank down on her bed and closed his eyes.

“Obvious, Hermione,” he said. “You’d never force me to sleep in the gutter.”

Hermione looked at her brother in disbelief.

“You have a flat in London, Sherlock,” she pointed out.

“I do,” Sherlock said and closed his eyes.

Hermione frowned.

“You could go there to sleep,” she pointed out.

“I needed to think,” Sherlock replied unhappily. “I’m not here to sleep.”

Hermione stared at her brother.

“And why can’t you think in London?” She asked incredulous.

Sherlock waved it off.

“There’s no way I could think there,” he said unhappily. “The place is a cave, not something someone can think in!”

Hermione pinched her nose.

“Then why do you live there if you hate it?” She asked sighing.

Sherlock raised one of his shoulders in a semi-shrug.

“It’s not as if I could afford another flat with Mycroft watching my finances,” he pointed out matter-of-factly.

Hermione opened her mouth to object, just to close it again without emitting a sound.

“Point,” she finally conceded.

“In other words – if I want to think, I’ll have to go somewhere else,” Sherlock concluded.

“And that somewhere else has to be my room,” Hermione asked sighing.

Sherlock opened his eyes to look at her for a second before closing his eyes again.

“Sherrinford took my skull,” he said.

“Ah!”

_That explained everything…_

Hermione wondered what Sherrinford, otherwise known as the quartermaster of MI6 or Q, wanted with Sherlock’s skull. She knew that Sherrinford, being a Holmes and Sherlock’s, Mycroft’s and her brother, had some odd habits, but she had no idea if one of those habits included stealing skulls or if he needed the skull for something else entirely…

“Do you know why he took it?” Hermione finally settled on asking.

Sherlock just waved it off.

“Yes, yes,” he said without elaborating.

Hermione sighed.

“So… if you know and you don’t want to take it back from him – why did that lead into you using my room to think?”

Sherlock opened one of his eyes again.

“I think best if I have someone I can address,” he pointed out.

And Hermione was convenient – even if Sherlock didn’t say it aloud.

Hermione closed her eyes in dismay.

“You need some friends,” she told her brother matter-of-factly.

Sherlock didn’t even open his eyes at that.

“Impracticable,” he replied. “They’d wanted to spend time with me and stop me from working.”

Hermione rolled her eyes at her brother.

“Or a flat mate,” she said. “Maybe that would also help with the ‘cave’ you’re currently living in.”

Her brother looked thoughtful for a second, but in the end he waved if off as well.

“That’s something to contemplate later,” he said. “After the case.”

Hermione rolled her eyes again, put her letter aside and resigned herself to listening to her brother for the next hours.

It wouldn’t be the last time that summer that her brother would come by to use his sister as his ‘skull’ – at least until he mentioned his lack of flat mate to Mike Stamford just shortly before one John Watson would do the same…

 

* * *

 

 

_Dear Harry,_

_How are you? I’m sorry that I haven’t written until –_

 

“Hermione!”

Hermione’s head snapped up to see one Sherrinford Holmes entering her room hurriedly.

“Hermione! Why’s 007 in our living room?!” He exclaimed, his eyes wild and his hair in disarray.

Hermione blinked and stared at her insane looking brother.

“007?” She repeated confused.

"Bond!” Sherrinford exclaimed hurriedly.

It still took another second or two for Hermione to connect the dots.

“James,” she corrected Sherrinford absentmindedly. “He’s –“

In that moment James stormed into her room and grabbed Sherrinford by the neck, in his other hand his gun.

“What are you planning to do to my sister, Q?” He growled.

Sherrinford wasn’t intimidated at all by the barrel of the gun pressed to his temple.

Instead, his eyes narrowed at James.

“The question would be what _you_ are doing in the room of my sister, Bond!” He growled. “Especially with a gun in your hands!”

Hermione looked from one of her brothers to the other.

It was then that Sherrinford finally truly registered what James had said just a second before.

“Wait!” He exclaimed and his eyes turned towards James. “ _Your_ sister?!”

James frowned.

“Yes,” he said coolly. “My sister! So –“

He stopped mid-sentence and blinked.

“Stop!” James said slowly. “Didn’t you just say Hermione was _your_ sister?”

In that moment, Hermione couldn’t stop herself from laughing anymore.

“Sherrinford,” she said. “Meet James Granger, often known as ‘Bond’. James, meet Sherrinford Holmes, new quartermaster of MI6 and your younger brother from Mummy’s side.”

Her brothers exchanged a look.

Then James removed his gun from Sherrinford’s head.

“Damn,” he said. “Don’t you two dare to tell Daddy. He’ll kill me if he finds out that I tried to kill my little brother just now!”

The rest of the day and the days after would be used by her brothers to get to know each other and to search for Tony via the internet.

Hermione would have some busy days.

Her letter, on the other hand, would stay unfinished…

 

* * *

 

 

_Dear Harry,_

_How are you? I’ve been a bit preoccupied in the last weeks so I’m sorry that I haven’t truly written until now. I’ve –_

 

“Hermione!”

Hermione stopped with her writing and looked up towards her door.

“Daddy,” she greeted her father.

The man just frowned at her.

“Clint,” he said. “What did he tell you when he came by weeks ago?”

Hermione frowned at her father.

“What do you mean, Daddy?” She asked concerned.

The man’s frown just deepened.

“What did he tell you that he was up to?” He asked her.

Hermione’s eyes narrowed.

“He said something about visiting Budapest – nothing else,” she replied confused.

Her father groaned.

“Alright, Hermione,” he said with a sigh. “Come with me.”

Hermione looked at her father in confusion.

“Why?” She asked.

The answer was a sigh.

“There was some trouble in Budapest,” he said sighing. “Mycroft needs to know everything you remember to ensure that he can cover Clint’s involvement up there before anybody else finds out about it.”

“Involvement?” Hermione asked concerned. “Is Clint alright?”

Her father grimaced.

“He’s missing, presumed dead,” he answered and hid his face with his hand.

Hermione closed her eyes.

That was brother number three who decided to go ‘Missing In Action’ that summer. It seemed like her brothers were at an all-time high when it came to stressing her parents and her in that kind of thing…

“So Mycroft –“

“Is searching for him and covering up whatever Clint did,” her father said with a sigh. “Of course, the more data he has, the easier will be his job…”

Hermione groaned.

“Alright, Daddy,” she said and stood up while wondering if she would have to bury a brother this year. She wouldn’t accept any of her brother’s dead until their body was found, but of course everytime they went missing there was always the thought about ‘what if’.

“I’ll come and talk to Mycroft,” Hermione said.

Of course, her letter would be set aside and for this and with the search for Clint, it would take days until Hermione would be back home and even longer until she would be able to attempt another try to write a letter to her best friend.

 

* * *

 

 

_Dear Harry,_

_How are you? I’m currently still at home. I’ve started my homework – somewhat. I was a bit preoccupied playing babysitter. I can’t believe that it’s weeks into the holidays and neither have I written you any kind of useful letter – well except of those short ‘Hi Harry, how are you? I’m fine.’ ones, which aren’t useful at all – nor have I finished just one of my essays for school!_

_I feel pretty bad for not writing you. I’m sorry. I know you need friends right now and I’m –_

 

“Hermione!”

Hermione stopped writing and looked up from her letter into the face of her brother.

She raised an eyebrow at James.

“What do you want, James?” She asked confused.

Her brother smiled.

“I don’t want anything from you,” he said grinning. “But there’s someone down in the living room whom you’d love to see!”

Hermione frowned at her brother but stood up and went down the stairs together with James.

The living room was full of people. The first Hermione saw, was her mother. She was smiling widely and hugging the stuffing out of someone.

The next one she saw was her father, hugging the same person by enclosing his wife in his hug as well.

And then the person in the middle looked up and Hermione squealed and threw herself at them.

“Tony!” She cried, not caring that she was basically forcing her parents to release her brother by hugging him. “You’re back! And you’re alive!”

Tony caught her but winced slightly while doing so.

“I’m home,” he said, nevertheless smiling.

It was then that Hermione noticed the glowing light in his chest.

Her eyes widened.

“What -?”

“Don’t worry,” he said soothingly. “It’s… well – let’s just say that something went wrong and this thing keeps me alive now.”

Hermione looked at the glowing metal in her brother’s chest.

“That doesn’t look too good,” she said concerned.

Tony shrugged.

“Don’t worry,” he said and smiled a bit forced. “It’s better than to die.”

This, Hermione couldn’t object to.

Hermione touched it cautiously.

It didn’t react to her magic – so Hermione was cautiously optimistic that her brother was right and the thing in his chest wouldn’t hurt him even with her near him.

He seemed to follow her thought process, because he smiled at her.

“I’ll test that thing against magic as soon as I can,” he promised.

His mother frowned at him.

“You’ll do no such a thing – at least for the next weeks!” She said strictly. “Not until you’re back to average weight and healed from the ordeal of your imprisonment, Anthony!”

Tony frowned at his mother, but in the end, he sighed.

“I’ll stay here for a few days at least,” he acquiesced.

His mother smiled.

“At least a week or two,” she said smiling.

Tony frowned.

“I won’t be able to stay that –“

“Anthony –“

But before her mother could say more, Hermione’s father spoke up and stopped her.

“Let him stay for a few days and then we’ll talk again,” he said.

Her mother frowned at him.

Hermione’s father raised his eyebrow and in the end, her mother gave in with a sigh.

“You stay for a few days and we’ll talk after that,” she said smiling.

In the end, Tony would stay for quite some time. The last thing he would do was bring Hermione to London where she met up with Ron and would enter the Black mansion at Grimmauld Place for the first time.

His last words towards her were: “I’ve got a new StarkPhone for you. I’m not sure how good I managed to work around magic, but I want you to take it with you to school to test it – will you?”

Of course, Hermione wouldn’t say ‘no’ to any kind of technology her older brother would gift her with.

 

* * *

 

 

_Dear Harry,_

_How are you? I’m sorry that I didn’t write until now. I know that you’d likely love to hear from me and I’m sorry that I neglected to write until now. I was at home until a few days ago – it was a bit stressful there considering that I had to babysit the last few weeks – but I’m now with Ron and the Weasleys. We’re at Snuffle’s home and –_

 

Before Hermione could continue with her letter, her mobile vibrated.

She blinked surprised but in the end, pulled it out of her pocket and took the call by an unknown number.

“Hello?” She asked.

“Hey, little sis!” A well-known voice said cheerfully. “You mind telling me where you’re at in London currently?”

Hermione frowned at her phone.

“Clint,” she addressed her older brother. “There’s magic –“

“You don’t have to say the address or whatever,” her brother interrupted her. “But it would help if you came out from wherever those wizards hid the house you’re in and let me in, will you?”

Hermione’s frown deepened.

“What do you mean ‘let you in’?” She asked alarmed.

“Well,” her brother said. “According to the tracking I did on your phone, you’re quite near me and I need a day or two to lay low right now.”

“Clint!” Hermione whispered into her phone harshly. “I can’t simply go out and let you in! What if someone of the adults will find you while you’re here?”

“As if any of those people would find me even if I stood right in front of them,” Clint said dismissively.

“Clint!”

The answer was a sigh.

“Listen, sis,” he said, suddenly serious. “Nat is hurt. We need a _safe_ place tonight.”

And just like that Hermione sighed and gave in.

She couldn’t let her brother stand outside – not when Natasha was hurt enough that Clint feared for her. And he had to fear for her or he would have never come to Grimmauld Place. There was an unspoken rule in the Granger family that contact with unknown potential opponents – like a house full of wizards – would be avoided at all cost if at all possible.

So there was just one answer that Hermione could give.

“Alright,” she acquiesced. “Wait a moment. I come down and let you in.”

Hermione would be quite surprised how easy it was to get Clint and Natasha through the wards. Nobody of the adults was warned in any way or form.

Clint was limping and Natasha was hanging half-unconscious in his arms.

Hermione immediately helped to steady her and together they entered through the wards and went into the house without causing any kind of alarm at all.

Just minutes later, Hermione set up her brother and his partner in one of the empty rooms upstairs where they would stay for the next week.

Hermione meanwhile vanished down into the kitchen to steal some food, potions and bandages.

Together with her brother, she removed Natasha’s clothes and then started to treat her wounds. The moment they were done with Natasha, Hermione turned to help her brother to do the same for him.

In the end, she put down the food she had brought on the bedside table and then turned towards the door.

“I’m leaving,” she said. “We can’t have them suspicious of me while you’re recuperating.”

Clint smiled at her.

“Thanks, little sis,” he said fondly.

Hermione smiled and left.

Of course, caring for her hurt brother and his equally hurt partner would mean that Hermione wouldn’t be able to write the long letter she had planned all summer to Harry…

It would also mean, that she would actually somewhat listen to the rules the Headmaster set up for the contact to Harry. She simply didn’t have the time write more than she did while caring for Clint and Natasha as well as looking up the laws and finishing her homework…

That didn’t mean that she didn’t try anyway.

 

* * *

 

 

_Dear Harry,_

_How –_

 

She stopped writing when she heard the entrance door opening and just a few minutes later Mrs Weasley speaking.

_“No, Harry, the meeting’s only for members of the Order. Ron and Hermione are upstairs, you can wait with them until the meeting’s over, then we’ll have dinner. And keep your voice down in the hall.”_

_Harry._

_Harry was here!_

Hermione looked in dismay at her letter.

It seemed that they had been faster with bringing him than Hermione had thought they would be…

Hermione sighed, then she scrunched up the parchment with her started letter on it.

“It seems like it’s not needed anymore,” she said sighing to herself. Then she stood up and hurried out of the room to greet Harry.

The moment she saw his thunderous expression, she knew that she had to apologize. For a moment, she contemplated to tell him the truth about why she hadn’t written, but in the end she dismissed it. She couldn’t risk it as long as Clint and Natasha were recuperating in one of the rooms of Grimmauld Place…

Her brother and his partner were quite defenceless against a bunch of wizards in their current state.

So Hermione took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a second and then started the act of her life-time…

“ _HARRY! Ron, he’s here, Harry’s here! We didn’t hear you arrive! Oh, how are you? Are you all right? Have you been furious with us? I bet you have, I know our letters were useless – but we couldn’t tell you anything, Dumbledore made us swear we wouldn’t, oh, we’ve got so much to tell you, and you’ve got things to tell us – the Dementors! When we heard – and that Ministry hearing – it’s just outrageous, I’ve looked it all up, they can’t expel you, they just can’t, there’s provision in the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery for the use of magic in live-threatening situations –“_

_“Let him be, Hermione,”_ Ron interrupted her – and just like that they were in the middle of an argument with Harry shouting at them and Hermione trying her best to feel guilty for something that she couldn’t have changed even if Dumbledore would have allowed her to write more and without her brother hiding in the room upstairs.

The following days, Harry would be cross with them – even if he didn’t show it openly.

Then he had his trial and Hermione used the diversion of the trial to smuggle her brother and his partner out of the house.

When Harry returned, Hermione acted like the only thing she had done was waiting for the answer to his trial.

In the end, Harry forgave her and Ron again – something Hermione was very happy about, especially considering that she _had tried_ to write Harry to the best of her abilities and time!

Yes, sometimes it wasn’t easy to be a good friend – sadly enough, Harry had no idea about all her attempts and wouldn’t believe her even if she told him…

And just like that, Hermione’s summer ended and she went back to Hogwarts for her fifth year…

 

* * *

 

 

_Fin_


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